“Exotic” is one in a series of photos I took late on a very dark day, and only in that darkness could I capture the delicate beauty of these dry remains of wildflowers I’d photographed through the rest of the year. I will be adding the other photos to my photo gallery here, and collected in a special gallery so you can enjoy the delicacy of gentle highlights, muted earth tones and exotic shapes that met me on my way. Below I have a gallery of all the photos in the collection, and the essay I wrote when I returned and selected the photos to share.

Shipping within the US is included in all the prices listed. All shipping is via Priority Mail. Prints are shipped flat in a rigid envelope.

FRAMED PRINTS

Framed prints are signed on the photo and on the mat. Custom framing options are also available for a special quote. Please ask if you’d like another option.

PHOTO PRINTS

Prints are made on acid-free matte photo paper using archival digital inks. I usually leave an inch or two of white around the print for easier frame fitting. All prints are countersigned by me.

Larger sizes are available than what I have listed, so please ask if you want a special size.

CANVAS PRINTS

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered here because customers often want a custom size. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, Canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. I set them up so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or sometimes I slip in a color that coordinates with the painting.

About The Light in the Darkness

I have had far worse days. Overwhelmed by the demands of commercial work as my customers and I prepared for the holidays along with merchandise orders and custom portraits and my own preparations for ending the year and beginning the next as a small business, I left the house at 4:00 p.m. destined for the post office and bank just before they closed.

Though I had walked this half mile route from my home to Main Street for years, I had lately been driving, using the need to save time or the awkwardness of a pile of packages as an excuse for wasting gas and a chance at exercise and fresh air. The day was hardly inspiring—five days prior to the winter solstice the days were frighteningly short, sunset less than an hour away, and in a series of heavy dark days typical of this area in late autumn and early winter, dense pasty clouds hanging low overhead and so dark it had felt like dusk at noon, and now some of the street lights on Main Street were already alight. I nearly always take photos on these walks, and while I laid the strap of my camera bag over my shoulder I was glad that, for once, I would probably not find anything to photograph and take time from my day in conditions like these.

Traffic was heavy so I took my route under the bridge, next to the creek where traffic noises faded and birds sang, a trickling sound as water flowed smoothly past over the rocks in the shallow waterway. And in the dim and fading light a world so familiar at first appeared dark and nearly colorless until my eyes adjusted to the light and found such wonders among the wildflowers along the way, standing upright though dried and every shade of brown and tan and umber I found fantastical birds, abstract sculptures, amazing complex patters among the dried flower heads, exposed and broken seed pods, leaves clinging curled to stems.

Armor from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

Oh from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

Warm and Cool from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

The Empire Shriveled from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

Portrait from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

Patterns and Transparencies from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

Soft Pattern from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

Grass from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

Frozen Flowers from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

Winter Lilies from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

Exotic from “The Light in the Darkness” series.

I could not stop for the post office and bank both closed at 4:30, so I walked as fast as I could with my camera bag on one shoulder and a large canvas bag of packages on the other so that I could amble back through this wonderland on my way back to my neighborhood. The light was so dim then, as the time approached sunset within minutes, that I had to set the ISO of my camera on 800 to get anything but vague images floating in sepia darkness, even with all my settings to admit as much light as possible.

These plants had sprung up from seeds tossed here on the wind and water, carried by birds and people walking past, sprouted in spring, housed birds and insects in summer, borne their flowers in summer and fall. I had walked among them many times with my camera and sketchpad, I knew where each stood, when they bloomed, their botanical names and history, I looked for them each year and anticipated the best times to compose the images I visualized, but this was a gift in its unfamiliarity.

Now, after several frosts, autumn storms and snow, the weak parts had been stripped away and the strongest parts of them were burnished by adversity and stood dignified in the dimness, with just enough sheen to highlight their most interesting shapes, textures and combined patterns.

The background now, rather than the usual details of other plants and flowers, was darkness, the more perfect to silhouette each delicate construction as if in a gallery featuring the finest art.

Milkweed pods became flocks of fantastical birds, or individual exotic species clinging to stems. Tightly curled dried flowers or clusters of puffy seeds set loose, sere and twisted leaves and flowers of another time. Even the holiday decorations in a shop front, capturing the blue from the late afternoon light with highlights from the store within echoed the shapes and patterns of the natural forms outdoors, as the raindrops that would soon fall.

I arrived home with dirty shoes from walking in mud, and dirty knees from kneeling in wet grass, bits of leaves and stems and seeds flocked with frills to carry them on the wind on my skirt and jacket, in my hair, on my bags, souvenirs of a timeless magic, both in letting go of the time of day, and letting go of time altogether for that period. I only let go and rejoined the day because it was too dark to photograph any longer.

I am grateful to this gift of creative vision that releases me from everyday cares for just a short time, exercises those aesthetic senses and relaxes the overused worry lines, and gives me these wonderful gifts of images to share, just for noticing the inspiration was there.

There is always something new to learn about the things we think we know well. Never forget that when the light seems dim there is much to be seen with the heart, and when adversity has taken away the quick and obvious beauty, the strongest parts remain, dignified in their naked and twisted strength.

Recent Exhibits

Reviews and Testimonials

Bernadette Kazmarski is my absolute favorite artist, I have one of her pieces on nearly every wall in my home. One of the things I admire most about her work is her feline art. Bernadette is able to capture cats in a very emotional and authentic way. The light and expressions on her feline subjects are so delightful. No animal has captivated us (and the Internet) quite like the house cat. Bernadette's pieces perfectly replicate the joys our feline friends bring to us.

Tara Czekaj

Friends and I chipped in together and hired Bernadette to create a memorial of a friend’s beloved cat after kitty passed away. The memorial was beautiful! We highly recommend Bernadette’s work.

Peg Bowman,Ordained Clergy, Computer Instructor

Bernadette Kazmarski is a friend and talented artist who's an avid cat lover just like us! She has created original cat artwork using a variety of mediums, and has transformed her artwork into such useful giftware items as notepads, garden flags, calendars, greeting cards table decor and votives (one of my personal favorites). She's also an award winning writer. Bernadette is a dedicated cat rescue volunteer and remains active in savings cats' lives.

Carolyn Kozlowski, My Three Cats & Co., Inc.

I love Bernadette's creativity and style. In addition, when I purchase from her, it is from a wonderful, caring person, not a faceless corporation.

Recent Exhibits

Reviews and Testimonials

Bernadette Kazmarski is my absolute favorite artist, I have one of her pieces on nearly every wall in my home. One of the things I admire most about her work is her feline art. Bernadette is able to capture cats in a very emotional and authentic way. The light and expressions on her feline subjects are so delightful. No animal has captivated us (and the Internet) quite like the house cat. Bernadette's pieces perfectly replicate the joys our feline friends bring to us.

Tara Czekaj

Friends and I chipped in together and hired Bernadette to create a memorial of a friend’s beloved cat after kitty passed away. The memorial was beautiful! We highly recommend Bernadette’s work.

Peg Bowman,Ordained Clergy, Computer Instructor

Bernadette Kazmarski is a friend and talented artist who's an avid cat lover just like us! She has created original cat artwork using a variety of mediums, and has transformed her artwork into such useful giftware items as notepads, garden flags, calendars, greeting cards table decor and votives (one of my personal favorites). She's also an award winning writer. Bernadette is a dedicated cat rescue volunteer and remains active in savings cats' lives.

Carolyn Kozlowski, My Three Cats & Co., Inc.

I love Bernadette's creativity and style. In addition, when I purchase from her, it is from a wonderful, caring person, not a faceless corporation.

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This blog is the living update for Portraits of Animals, telling stories, pointing out what’s new, what’s on special and what’s on clearance. Enter your email below to get regular updates in your email inbox when I post something new.

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including this image, check to see if I have it available already.